Kay Allmand(L) & Ryan Schabach(R) in PROOF

Proof 

The Texas Repertory Theatre, formerly known as the new kid on the block, moves into their second play of the second season looking more like old pros.

Proof, David Auburn’s Pulitzer prize winning play, is a perfect fit for the Rep’s sleek black box and pool of talent. Auburn’s thriller (with math) is just the kind of play that makes the Texas Rep click. Craig A. Miller’s keen direction illuminated this quiet drama that unfolded at a steady, organic pace. Miller let the story hang in the air a bit. In fact, the whole feel of the production was not unlike a good math problem—elegant. The Rep gets an A + for this one.  

Kay Ann Allmand (Catherine) captured the smart girl deeply worried about going the nutty way of her father with ample grace and edginess. Ryan Schabach nailed the bumbling-but-likeable graduate student, Hal, with a strong performance. Kim Tobin’s Claire pushed the edges of bossiness as the not-as-smart-as-Catherine older sister. Jim Salners, (Robert), delivered an understated but moving performance as the dead mathematician. In addition to strong performances by all, it was the chemistry between various pairs that moved the drama along.

The power of Auburn’s play takes place between a pair of parentheses. But its’ set and lighting design gave the audience the premonition that nothing was as simple as it seemed. With the entire play taking place on the family’s back porch, the Rep situated the house on a skewed angle, which allowed for a three-dimensional feel and ramped up the anxiety. The stroke of brilliance was leaving the top part of the house unfinished. The very place that holds the mystery of the play remains an equation awaiting a solution. -Nancy Wozny